Currently: - Game info: 8:00 pm EST Sat Jan 7, 2006
- TV: ABC
The New England Patriots have a chance to win an unprecedented fourth Super Bowl in five years. To do it, they’ll have to work an extra week this season.
The Patriots host an AFC wild-card matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the last team to beat New England in the postseason. Since that 1998 wild-card defeat in Jacksonville, New England has won nine straight playoff games.
None of those victories came in the first round, however. In its three previous championship seasons, New England earned one of the top two spots in the conference and a bye.
But a 4-4 beginning to 2005, coupled with fast starts by Indianapolis, Denver and Cincinnati, left the Patriots to focus on securing a division title and an opening-round home game.
“Obviously, you’d always want to have the bye. That’s what you play for,” linebacker Mike Vrabel said after the Patriots dropped their regular-season finale to Miami on Sunday, 28-26. “We didn’t get that. We won our division. It would have been good to end up on a positive note (Sunday). All that aside, we still have a great opportunity in front of us.”
Despite the loss to the Dolphins, a game in which several New England regulars were either inactive or pulled early, the Patriots enter the postseason having won four of their last five games.
They also have Tom Brady.
The quarterback played only one quarter last week but finished the regular season with 4,110 yards passing, becoming the first Patriot to lead the league in that category. Brady, who finished third in the NFL MVP voting behind Shaun Alexander and Petyon Manning, set a career mark for attempts (530) and fell percentage points shy of a new high in passer rating (92.3).
He also enters Saturday’s game with a 9-0 record in the postseason, but doesn’t feel his team is getting the credit it deserves.
“I think we’ve been probably disrespected more than any team in the league this year,” Brady said. “I think we’ve been given up on by a lot of media people, a lot of fans, our own fans, other people around the league, and I think if there’s one team that feels like they’re disrespected it’s us.”
Injuries could be a reason why the Pats have been overlooked.
New England has placed six defensive backs on injured reserve, including All-Pro strong safety Rodney Harrison. The team has used six starters in his place. Atrell Hawkins has assumed those duties in four of the last five games, and the unit has shown signs of improvement.
New England, though, ranks 31st in pass defense and 26th overall.
Injuries along the offensive line have hurt the running game, as well. The Patriots’ 3.4 yards-per-carry average was third-worst in the NFL, ahead of only Green Bay and Arizona.
Still, coach Bill Belichick doesn’t want to hear excuses about bye weeks, or anything else.
“We’ve got the same amount of time that Jacksonville has to prepare for the game, so we’re on a level field there. We just have to do a better job,” Belichick said. “You’ve got to play your best football in January. It’s that time of year.”
The Jaguars are playing some of their best ball, winning eight of their last nine, and they’ll be getting Byron Leftwich back for the playoffs. The quarterback broke his ankle Nov. 27 and has missed most of the last six games, but backup David Garrard helped the team go 5-1 in those contests.
Coach Jack Del Rio knows he is taking a chance by making a switch.
“We want to focus on the matchups and where we can get favorable matchups, where we could maybe reduce the risk of unfavorable matchups, and then go in and compete,” Del Rio said. “My job is to prepare the group of men and come up with the best combination of players that I think give us a chance to win on any given day.”
Jacksonville has won eight of Leftwich’s 11 starts this season, including four straight before he went down. He has 17 total touchdowns (two rushing) and just five interceptions.
But Leftwich also knows only three of his team’s 12 wins came against opponents who finished the regular season with winning records, and the Jaguars were 3-3 against playoff teams.
“I watch a lot of TV and I haven’t seen anybody give us a chance,” said Leftwich. “That is cool with us because we understand that is not going to determine if we win the football game or not. What is going to determine it is how well we are going to prepare this week and how well we get out there and play on Saturday night.”
While the Jaguars are happy to have Leftwich back, the injury news is more bleak on defense. Starting linebacker Mike Peterson (wrist) and defensive ends Reggie Hayward (hamstring) and Paul Spicer (broken left hand) were listed as questionable for Saturday.
The team already is without safety Donovin Darius, who is on injured reserve following knee surgery.
“We’ve had a lot of guys go down,” Del Rio said. “We just have had a lot of different guys that have had to step up and play well, and we’re going to need the same Saturday if in fact those guys end up not being able to go.”
Including the playoffs, Jacksonville is 1-4 against New England, including 0-3 in Foxborough.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Jaguars - Wild card. Patriots - AFC East champions.
JAGUARS LEADERS: Offense - Leftwich, 2,123 passing yards and 15 passing TDs; Taylor, 787 rushing yards; Greg Jones and LaBrandon Toefield, 4 rushing TDs; Jimmy Smith, 70 receptions and 1,023 receiving yards; Ernest Wilford, 7 receiving TDs. Defense - Hayward, 8 1/2 sacks; Rashean Mathis, 5 INTs.
PATRIOTS LEADERS: Offense - Brady, 4,110 passing yards and 26 passing TDs; Corey Dillon, 733 rushing yards and 12 rushing TDs; Deion Branch, 78 receptions, 998 receiving yards and 5 receiving TDs. Defense - Rosevelt Colvin, 7 sacks; Ellis Hobbs and Asante Samuel, 3 INTs.
JAGUARS TEAM RANK: Rushing Offense - 122.4 yards per game (10th in NFL); Passing Offense - 199.4 ypg (19th); Total Offense - 321.8 ypg (T-15th). Rushing Defense - 106.8 ypg (14th); Passing Defense - 184.1 ypg (7th); Total Defense - 290.9 ypg (6th).
PATRIOTS TEAM RANK: Rushing Offense - 94.5 ypg (24th); Passing Offense - 257.5 ypg (2nd); Total Offense - 352.0 ypg (7th). Rushing Defense - 98.8 ypg (8th); Passing Defense - 231.4 ypg (31st); Total Defense - 330.2 ypg (26th).
LAST MEETING: Dec. 14, 2003; Patriots, 27-13. At Foxborough, Mass., Brady threw for 228 yards and two TDs, and CB Tyrone Poole intercepted Leftwich twice.
STREAKS AND NOTES: Jaguars - Jacksonville trailed in nine of its 12 wins. … WR Smith has seven TD receptions in his last eight playoff games. … The Jaguars have won eight of their last 10 road games. Patriots - Branch has reached the 100-yard receiving mark in three of his last four postseason games. … A victory Saturday would give the Patriots an NFL-record 10th consecutive playoff win, breaking a tie with the Packers (1961-62, 1965-67). … Adam Vinatieri has four game-winning FGs in the postseason.
ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Jaguars - 6-2 on the road; Patriots - 5-3 at home.
INJURIES: Jaguars - QUESTIONABLE: DE Hayward (hamstring); LB Peterson (wrist); DE Spicer (hand). PROBABLE: RB Rich Alexis (groin); RB Jones (neck); QB Leftwich (ankle); CB Kenny Wright (knee). Patriots - QUESTIONABLE: LB Tedy Bruschi (calf); DT Mike Wright (ankle). PROBABLE: QB Brady (right shoulder); RB Dillon (calf); RB Heath Evans (shoulder); TE Christian Fauria (foot); TE Daniel Graham (shoulder); DE Jarvis Green (shoulder); CB Hawkins (thigh); WR Bethel Johnson (knee); T Nick Kaczur (shoulder); RB Patrick Pass (hamstring); CB Samuel (head).
Team Comparison
| Team | Records | Standings | PF | PA | Road/Home | AFC | NFC | DIV | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | 12-4-0 | 2nd AFC South | 361 | 269 | 6-2-0 Road | 9-3-0 | 3-1-0 | 4-2-0 | Won 3 |
| New England | 10-6-0 | 1st AFC East | 379 | 338 | 5-3-0 Home | 7-5-0 | 3-1-0 | 5-1-0 | Lost 1 |
Blog Coverage from SB Nation
Big Cat Country
Pats PulpitInjuries
Bryan Smith LB, Rashean Mathis CB, Justin Durant LB, Gerald Alexander S, Maurice Williams T, Jarett Dillard WR, Scott Starks CB, Troy Williamson WR, Reggie Hayward DE, Rob Meier DT, Don Carey CB
Dan Koppen C, Jarvis Green DE, Julian Edelman WR, Ron Brace DT, Tully Banta-Cain LB, Chris Baker TE, Eric Alexander LB, Sam Aiken WR, Fred Taylor RB, Matt Light T, Sammy Morris RB, Stephen Neal G, Benjamin Watson TE, Shawn Springs CB, Tom Brady QB, Ty Warren DT, Rob Ninkovich LB, Brandon Tate WR, Chris Taylor RB, Shawn Crable LB, George Bussey T, Tyrone McKenzie LB
Notes
No team notes.
Despite winning their final four games, the Patriots became the first 11-win team to miss the playoffs since Denver in 1985. ... New England beat the Bills for the 11th consecutive time. The Patriots also kept up their late-season brilliance, extending their winning streak in December to 12 games and improving to 24-2 in the month since 2003. ... With howling winds gusting over 50 miles per hour, QB Matt Cassel attempted a season-low eight passes. He completed six for 78 yards. ... The Patriots set an NFL record for fewest penalties called against them in a season. They were whistled for 57 infractions, breaking the record of 59 held by Seattle for a 16-game season. ... WR Randy Moss had just one reception for 13 yards, but it was enough to put him over 1,000 yards for the ninth time in his 11 seasons.
Dec 28, 11:19 pm EST